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CIRCULAR No. 31/2003/TT-BTC OF APRIL 16, 2003 GUIDING THE FINANCIAL MECHANISM FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NATIONAL ACTION PROGRAM ON TOURISM IN THE 2002-2005 PERIOD

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 86/2002/ND-CP of November 5, 2002 on the tasks, powers and management responsibilities of the ministries and ministerial-level agencies;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 93/QD-TTg of January 20, 2003 approving fundings for the national action program on tourism in the 2002-2005 period; and the Government's Official Dispatch No. 289/CP-KTTH of March 21, 2002 on the national action program on tourism in the 2002-2005 period;

The Ministry of Finance hereby guides the financial mechanism for implementation of the national action program on tourism in the 2002-2005 period as follows:

Part I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

- Funding sources for implementation of the national action program on tourism in the 2002-2005 period include: capital construction investment capital and non-business funding source apportioned from the State budget (the central budget and local budgets); contributions of the tourist service-providing enterprises; aid sources rendered by domestic and foreign tourist organizations; and other lawful revenue sources (if any) as prescribed by law.

- Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall assume the prime responsibility for and coordinate the program implementation, have the responsibility to synthesize, report on, and evaluate the situation and efficiency of the use of the whole program's fundings.

Part II

SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

I. FUNDING ESTIMATION, DISTRIBUTION AND ALLOCATION

1. Funding estimation:

- Annually, basing itself on the program's contents and objectives approved by the Prime Minister, the General Department of Customs shall have to evaluate the situation of program implementation in the reporting year, propose resource demands for the plan year of the program, including the State budget capital (domestic capital, loan capital and foreign aid, which are, at the same time, classified by investment capital and non-business capital sources); capital mobilized from the tourist service-providing enterprises; and other capitals (if any), and send them to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

- The Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall synthesize the proposals on the levels of fundings apportioned from the central budget for ensuring the materialization of the program's objectives and tasks in the plan period, and submit them to the Government for further submission to the National Assembly for decision.

2. Distribution, assignment of plans, and allocation of fundings for the program implementation:

2.1. Distribution of the program's capital:

a/ For fundings provided by the central budget for the program implementation:

- For capital in support of tourist infrastructure construction in localities: Basing itself on the total fundings assigned by competent authorities, the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and Vietnam National Administration of Tourism in envisaging the allocation plans for localities.

- For non-business fundings: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall assume the prime responsibility and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment in envisaging the plans on distributing fundings to Vietnam National Administration of Tourism (including the funding amounts implemented by the ministries and central agencies) and localities for the tasks authorized by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism to localities for performance in conformity with the approved objectives and tasks.

On that basis, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment shall have to synthesize and submit them to competent authorities for assignment thereof to Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and localities in the year-beginning budget estimates.

b/ For fundings provided by local budgets: Basing itself on the annual objectives of the program, the General Department of Customs shall guide localities on the contents of works for the program implementation in localities for the latter to apportion them into their local budget estimates and mobilize other resources as prescribed by law for the program implementation. The People's Committees of the provinces and centrally-run cities shall distribute fundings for each objective and task implemented in their respective localities (including development investment capital and non-business capital) and submit them to the People's Councils of the provinces and centrally-run cities for approval together with the approval of distribution of the annual local budget estimates.

2.2. Allocation of the program's fundings:

a/ For fundings provided by the central budget for program implementation:

-The program's fundings within the capital construction investment capital sources in support of tourist infrastructure construction in localities shall be allocated in form of "targeted addition" to localities according to the current capital construction investment capital allocation process.

- The program's fundings within non-business capital sources:

+ For work volumes directly implemented by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, the Ministry of Finance shall allocate fundings to Vietnam National Administration of Tourism according to the current regulations.

+ For work volumes covered by the central budget source, which are authorized by Vietnam National Administration of Tourism to localities for implementation, the Ministry of Finance shall authorize the provincial/municipal Finance-Pricing Services to allocate fundings to the project owners, based on the assigned estimates and the provincial/municipal People's Committees' decisions approving the implementation of projects.

- The program's aid fundings (if any) shall comply with the Government's Decree No. 17/2001/ND-CP of May 4, 2001 on the management and use of Official Development Assistance (ODA) capital and relevant documents.

- For capital amounts mobilized from the tourist service-providing enterprises and other revenue sources (if any), Vietnam National Administration of Tourism may use them for the works within the program's contents, which, however, must be included into reports to be sent to the Ministry of Finance.

b/ For capital sources provided by local budgets: Basing themselves on the estimates assigned by competent authorities and the units' detailed estimates of funding use, the provincial/municipal Finance-Pricing Services shall allocate fundings to the units for implementation according to the current regulations.

II. FINANCIAL SPENDING CONTENTS AND REGIME FOR THE PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION

1. Spending contents:

a/ Contents of spendings from capital construction investment capital sources:

Expenses for investment, upgrading and construction of infrastructures of tourist sites, zones and spots.

b/ Contents of spendings from non-business capital sources:

- Expenses for making and transporting products on overseas and domestic propagation for the Vietnamese tourism;

- Expenses for propagation on domestic mass media; building of the tourist information system;

- Expenses for the promotion of Vietnamese tourism on foreign information and press systems on the land, people, potentials as well as mechanism and policies related to the Vietnamese tourism; invitation of foreign journalists and tour firms for visits and surveys to write articles propagating for the Vietnamese tourism;

- Expenses in support of the organization of domestic tourist festivals and events in order to make festivals tourist products;

- Expenses for survey and building of new tourist programs, ecological tourist programs, traditional craft-village tourist programs,...

- Expenses for organization of fostering and re-training courses to raise the working capabilities of the tourist service's employees; expenses for organization of competitions for tourist guides, hotel operations, national dishes and other specialized competitions;

- Expenses for participation in conferences and fairs, and organization of tourist events overseas;

- Expenses for the program management: purchase of stationery, tools and assets; expenses for car petrol, working-trip allowances, communication, and other administrative expenses in service of the program;

- Expenses for conferences on preliminary and final reviews as well as inspection and evaluation of the program.

2. Spending levels:

The above-said spending contents must strictly comply with the current spending regimes, criteria and norms, concretely:

- Expenses from the capital construction investment capital sources shall comply with the current capital construction norms and unit prices.

- Expenses for payment of working-trip allowances to officials sent on working missions inside the country shall comply with the provisions of the Finance Ministry's Circular No. 94/1998/TT-BTC of June 30, 1998 prescribing the working-trip allowance regime for State officials and public servants, who are sent on working missions inside the country.

- Expenses for conferences and workshops shall comply with the provisions of the Finance Ministry's Circular No. 93/1998/TT-BTC of June 30, 1998 prescribing the regime of spendings on conferences at all levels throughout the country.

- Expenses for payment of working-trip allowances to officials sent on overseas working missions shall comply with the provisions of the Finance Ministry's Circular No. 45/1999/TT-BTC of May 4, 1999 prescribing the working-trip allowance regime for State officials and public servants, who are sent on overseas short-term working missions, and Circular No. 108/1999/TT-BTC guiding supplements to Circular No. 45/1999/TT-BTC of May 4, 1999.

- Expenses for reception of foreign guests shall comply with the provisions of the Finance Ministry's Circular No. 100/2000/TT-BTC of October 16, 2000 prescribing the regime of spendings on reception of foreign guests and organization of international conferences and workshops in Vietnam.

- Expenses for payment of remunerations to teachers participating in teaching courses on skill raising shall comply with the provisions of the Finance Ministry's Circular No. 105/2001/TT-BTC of December 27, 2001 guiding the management and use of funds for training and fostering State officials and public servants.

- For the program's expenses of particular nature such as expenses for printing publications, books, pictures, photos; expense for film production; expense for advertisement billboards; expense for surveys; expense for propagation on mass media at home and abroad; expense for organization or support for organization of tourist events at home and abroad, etc, the regimes, norms and unit prices already set by the State for the branches with similar works shall serve as basis for estimation and management. Estimates of these spending contents must be approved by competent authorities before implementation, which shall serve as basis for funding allocation and settlement.

- For work parts which are subject to bidding, they shall comply with the Government's Decree No. 88/1999/ND-CP of September 1, 1999 promulgating the Regulation on Bidding, Decree No. 14/2000/ND-CP of May 5, 2000 amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Regulation on Bidding, issued together with Decree No. 88/1999/ND-CP of September 1, 1999, and documents guiding the implementation thereof.

- Other expenses shall comply with lawful and valid spending vouchers and receipts according to the current regulations.

III. ADJUSTMENT OF THE PROGRAMS' CONTENTS AND FUNDING ESTIMATES

For fundings provided from the central budget for program implementation, in the course of implementation, if it is deemed necessary to change the contents and cost estimates of the program's projects, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall adjust them after obtaining the written agreement of the Ministry of Finance (for non-business capital), or the Ministry of Planning and Investment (for capital construction capital).

IV. FUNDING REPORTING, INSPECTION AND SETTLEMENT REGIMES

1. Quarterly and annual reporting regime: The program-implementing units and localities shall have to report to Vietnam National Administration of Tourism on the program implementation situation. Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall report on the work parts directly performed by itself and synthesize localities' reports on the program implementation situation, then send them to the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

2. Inspection regime: Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Planning and Investment in conducting regular or extraordinary inspections of the use management of the program's fundings.

3. Funding settlement: At the quarter-end and year-end, the units must report on the settlement of the program's fundings already implemented together with the settlement of the units' annual State budget expenditures. The settlement reports shall be enclosed with detailed explanations on the program implementation results such as implemented volume and objectives corresponding to the levels of fundings already implemented.

- Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall report on the settlement of the program's allocated fundings to the Ministry of Finance.

- For the program implementation fundings allocated under authorization to localities, the units shall make settlement of the used fundings with the provincial/municipal Finance-Pricing Services. The provincial/municipal Finance-Pricing Services shall have to consider and approve authorized fundings settlement reports according to the current regulations and send them to the Ministry of Finance and Vietnam National Administration of Tourism.

The Ministry of Finance shall coordinate with Vietnam National Administration of Tourism in examining and considering the provincial/municipal Finance-Pricing Services' authorized fundings settlements and synthesize the program implementation fundings settlement reports together with the annual State budget settlements, then submit them to the Government for further submission to the National Assembly for approval.

Vietnam National Administration of Tourism shall have to synthesize, report and evaluate the use and settlement of the whole program's fundings approved by the Prime Minister in each period.

Part III

IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

This Circular takes implementation effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette. In the course of implementation, if any problems arise, the units are requested to report them to the Ministry of Finance for consideration and appropriate amendment and/or supplementation.

For the Finance Minister

Vice Minister
NGUYEN CONG NGHIEP